Storage rack assembly and mounting clamp therefor

ABSTRACT

A storage rack assembly comprises laterally spaced vertical units defining a storage area therebetween and each having a base provided by a W-configured truss and three co-planar posts secured to and extending upwardly from the top of the truss. Spacers maintain the posts in fixed relationship within each vertical unit. Spreaders and shelving members extending between the vertical units are secured to sleeves which in turn are detachably secured to the posts thereof in tightly fitting engagement therewith. Each sleeve comprises a pair of interfitting sections having interfitting oppositely dispoed L-shaped fingers along the vertical edges thereof. Resiliently deformable S-configured clamping members each have offset hook portions which engage recesses in the bases of each pair of interfitting fingers to prevent inadvertent disassembly of the sleeve sections.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Storage racks for large units of material in crates or on pallets arewell known and generally comprise a multiplicity of vertical postsinterconnected by horizontal spacers and/or shelves. To facilitatehandling of pallets by fork lift trucks, special storage racks have beenproposed such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,785,502 granted to A. N.Konstant on Jan. 15, 1974. In the storage rack of this patent, the frontposts terminate above the floor and diagonal members extend downwardlytherefrom. Although this structure has proven advantageous in permittingready access and minimizing fork lift truck damage, it provides unequaldistribution of the vertical loads in this front section of the rack.

In storage racks horizontal members such as shelves are oftenpermanently secured to posts, thus rendering assembly quite involved anddisassembly difficult. However, horizontal members may also bedetachably secured to posts by sleeves as in U.S. Pat. No. 2,765,087granted to D. L. Weinbaum on Oct. 2, 1956. Although this unit has beenemployed satisfactorily for many years, there is a possibility that thesleeve sections may disengage if excessive upward forces are extended onthe horizontal members during loading and unloading of the sleeves.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novelstorage rack assembly which is economical and easy to manufacture andhas a substantially improved load bearing capacity.

It is also an object to provide such an assembly which is easilyassembled from, and disassembled into, a plurality of planar verticalunits and horizontal members.

Another object is to provide such an assembly which has an improvedmounting clamp for detachably securing sleeves to posts to support thehorizontal members thereon.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It has now been found that the foregoing and related objects of thepresent invention are readily attained in a storage rack assemblycomprising a pair of laterally spaced vertical units defining a storagearea therebetween and each comprising three parallel posts extending ina common vertical plane. Horizontal spacers extend between the posts ineach common plane to maintain the posts in fixed spaced relationship. Atruss comprising four diagonal struts secured in a generallyW-configuration provides three terminal portions at the upper endthereof each secured to the lower end of one of the posts. The verticalunits are maintained in laterally spaced relationship by securing thelower ends thereof to horizontal support surfaces and by a spreaderextending between posts in each vertical unit. Horizontal braces extendbetween and are secured to the struts in each truss.

Vertically spaced shelves are provided by pairs of support members lyingin a common horizontal plane, the support members each having one endsecured to one of the vertical units and being spaced apart horizontallyto provide a vertically extending passage within the storage area.

The lower ends of the struts are secured to a horizontal support surfaceby a pair of laterally spaced generally U-shaped elongated channelmembers each comprising a web and pair of legs. The web is secured to ahorizontal support surface with the legs extending upwardly therefrom,the lower ends of the struts being disposed intermediate the legs andsecured to the channel members.

The posts preferably have a polygonal cross section with the shelves orany other horizontal member being secured to a multiplicity of sleeveshaving an internal cross section complementary to the cross section ofthe posts, each sleeve being detachably secured to one of the posts intightly fitting engagement therewith. Each sleeve comprises a pair ofinterfitting sections and a multiplicity of resiliently deformableS-configured clamping members each clamping the sections of a sleeve ininterfitting assembly about a post.

Each of the sleeve sections has two horizontal and two vertical edges, agenerally L-shaped finger along each of the vertical edges and a recessalong the base portion of each finger. The fingers on the section areoppositely disposed and interfitted. The clamping members each have hookportions adjacent the ends thereof offset in different planes with oneof the hook portions being seated in the recess of one interfittingfinger and the other hook portion being seated in the recess of theother interfitting finger to prevent inadvertent disassembly. In apreferred embodiment each sleeve section has two such fingers along eachvertical edge thereof, with additional clamping members securing theseadditional interfitting fingers against disassembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a storage rack installationembodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the installation of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the installation ofFIG. 1 with a pallet supported thereon shown in phantom line and drawnto an enlarged scale;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing the base of a postmounted on a horizontal channel member and drawn to an enlarged scalerelative to FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view of the assembly ofFIG. 4 to an enlarged scale;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the truss portion ofthe installation and drawn to an enlarged scale relative to FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of the truss portion of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing a strut andchannel member of the truss portion of FIG. 6 and drawn to an enlargedscale relative thereto;

FIG. 9 is a transverse vertical sectional view of the strut and channelmember of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary partially exploded perspective view of theinstallation of FIG. 1 showing the mounting clamp assembly forsupporting the shelves and drawn to an enlarged scale;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view of the assembly ofFIG. 10 without the S-configured clamping member; and

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the assembly of FIG.10 showing the clamping member partially seated in full line and lockedin phantom line.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT

Turning now to the attached drawings in detail and in particular toFIGS. 1-3 thereof, illustrated therein is a drive-in storage rackinstallation embodying the storage rack assembly of the presentinvention which comprises a pair of laterally spaced vertical unitsgenerally designated by the numerals 10, 12 and providing a storage areatherebetween. The base portion of each vertical unit 10, 12 is providedby a W-configured truss generally designated by the numeral 14.Extending upwardly from and secured to each truss 14 are three posts 16.Spacers 20, 22 and rails 46 tie the posts 16 together within eachvertical unit 10, 12, and spreaders 56, 58 tie the two vertical units10, 12 together.

The various members extending horizontally between the vertical units10, 12 are secured to mounting clamp assemblies generally designated bythe numeral 50 and best seen in FIGS. 10-12, the mounting clampassemblies 50 being detachably secured to posts 16, 18. Each mountingclamp assembly 50 comprises a sleeve formed of interfitting sectionsgenerally designated by the numerals 62 which are lockably retained inengagement by a multiplicity of S-configured clamping members generallydesignated by the numeral 64.

Turning first to a description of the vertical units 10, 12, the truss14 is best seen in FIGS. 6-9 and comprises four diagonal struts 24, 26,28, 30 arranged in a W-configuration. The lower ends of the struts 24,26, 28, 30 are welded to the channel members generally designated by thenumeral 34 which are normally secured to a floor by bolts or othercomparable fasteners (not shown).

Struts 24, 30 are secured to channel members 34 by placing the lowerends thereof between the generally upright legs 40 of the channelmembers 34, inserting the cylindrical inserts 38, and welding the struts24, 30 in place as shown at 42. Struts 26, 28 are illustrated as havinga smaller width than that of struts 24, 30, and thus inserts 38 are notnecessary to facilitate welding; the welds (not shown) are made adjacentthe base of the struts 26, 28.

Braces 36 extend horizontally between and are welded to adjacent struts24, 26, 28, 30 in each truss 14 to provide increased strength.

The upper ends of each of the struts 24, 26, 28, 30 are welded tohorizontal rectangular plates 32 which tie adjacent struts together andprovide a mounting surface to which the lower ends of the posts 16 arewelded. The several plates 32 are in turn welded to the lower spacers 20which tie the entire top portion of the truss together. Within theportion of each vertical unit 10, 12 above the truss, the posts 16 aremaintained in parallel disposition by the spacers 20 extendingtherebetween and welded thereto.

The trusses 14, in addition to providing increased support to thevertical units 10, 12, also provide a recessed portion borderingtransverse aisles which reduces the tendency for transport vehicles todamage the installation and also provides increased maneuvering roomtherefor without loss of storage space.

As best seen in FIG. 1, the depth of the storage area of theinstallation provided intermediate the vertical units 10, 12 isincreased by adding posts 18 to the basic assembly rearwardly of thevertical units 10, 12. The posts 18 extend to floor level and aremounted on the channel members 34 in a manner best seen in FIGS. 4 and5. Aligned slots 44 in the channel member legs 40 act as keyways for theinsertion of the square cross sectional posts 18, two lower longitudinaledge portions thereof fitting within the slots 44. The posts 18 arewelded to the channel members 34.

As previously indicated, the posts 16, 18 within each vertical unit 10,12 are maintained in parallel disposition by the spacers 20, 22. Theposts 18 are maintained in parallel relationship with the posts 16 ofthe corresponding vertical unit 10, 12 by horizontal rails 46 and angleirons 54 extending therebetween and secured to the mounting clampassembly 50, and the rails 46 also provide vertically spaced shelves forthe storage of articles thereon.

As seen best in FIGS. 2 and 3, the rails 46 are secured to the arms 48which are welded to the mounting clamp assembly 50 which is detachablysecured to a post 16, 18, in a manner more fully described hereinafter.Each rail 46 is secured to the free ends of a plurality of horizontal,parallel arms 48 to provide one end of each shelf support within thestorage area between the vertical units 10, 12. Each angle iron 54 issecured to the upper surface of the arms 48 inwardly from the free endsthereof in parallel relationship for a purpose to be describedhereinafter.

Each pair of rails 46 forming a shelf is horizontally spaced a distancesufficient to provide a drive-in storage bay which permits use ofvertically extendable transport vehicles such as fork lift trucks. Apallet 52 is shown in phantom line in FIG. 3 supported upon the rails46. As can be seen the angle irons 54 extend parallel to the rails 46and provide retainers to limit lateral movement of the pallets 52 andprevent them from falling between the ends of rails 46.

The upper portions of the vertical units 10, 12 and additional posts 18are maintained in proper laterally spaced relationship by the spreaders56, 58 extending the rails 46 and posts 16, 18, respectively. Thespreaders 58 are welded to clamp assemblies 50 which are detachablysecured to posts 16, 18. The lower portions of the vertical units 10, 12and associated posts 18 are maintained at the proper spacing by beingsecured to the parallel channel members 34 as described hereinbefore. Aspreader 60 extends between the lower portions of two posts 18 andrepresents a limit for the motion of a vehicle into the storage bay. Aswith spreaders 58, spreader 60 is welded to clamp assemblies 50 whichare detachably secured to posts 18.

The mounting clamp assemblies 50 detachably secured to posts 16, 18 toprovide means for detachably mounting arms 48 and spreaders 58, 60, arebest seen in FIGS. 10-12. Each clamp assembly 50 includes a sleevecomprising a pair of interfitting identical right angle sections 62 andat least one deformable S-configured clamping member 64. The clampassembly 50 is illustrated as being mounted to a post 18 and has thespreader 58 welded thereto.

Each clamp section 62 has a pair of vertically disposed L-shaped fingers66, 68 on each vertical edge thereof. The sections 62 are mounted to thepost 18 by inverting one section 62 and sliding it into engagement withthe other section 62, the fingers 66, 68 of one section interfittingwith the fingers 68, 66, respectively, of the other section. As seen thesections 62 should be oriented so that the lowest finger 68 extendsupwardly and the uppermost finger 68 extends downwardly. The sleeve isthus mounted to the post 18 in tightly fitting engagement therewith.

As seen in FIG. 4, a tab 70 is secured to the outer surface of the post18 and the lower edge of one of the sections 62 of the clamp assembly 50abuts thereagainst to limit downward movement of the assembly 50 uponthe post 18. Alternatively this limitation of downward movement isprovided by mounting the clamp assemblies 50 above the abuttinghorizontal members, such as spacers 20, 22 (see FIG. 1), secureddirectly to posts 16, 18.

The sections 62 are locked in interfitting engagement by the clampingmembers 64, which have hook portions 72 at both ends thereof offset indifferent perpendicular planes and seated in recesses 74 in the baseportions of the fingers 66, 68. With reference to FIG. 12, each clampingmember 64 is mounted by first seating a hook portion 72 thereof in therecess 74 adjacent the base portion of the finger 68. The other hookportion 72 is forced or driven along the angled edge portion 76 offinger 66 until it seats in the recess 74, as shown in phantom line.This process is repeated at least one pair of interfitting fingers 66,68 is lockably engaged on each pair of clamp sections 62.

The posts, spacers, spreaders, struts and bars are all preferably formedof hollow, square cross sectional steol tubing for economy and strengthalthough other configurations may be employed. All joints except thoseinvolving clamp assemblies to posts are preferably formed by welding,although rivets or bolts may also be used.

The preferred embodiment of installation provides a drive-in storagearea, thus requiring some means to maintain the lateral spacing of theupper portions of the veritical units. This may be effected by theillustrated spreaders or by shelves which extend completely between thevertical units. Alternatively the upper ends of the posts may be securedto a ceiling. The lower ends of the struts and additional posts arepreferably secured to channel members, although they may be secureddirectly to a floor.

A multiplicity of interconnected vertical units may be used to provideadditional storage space. The depth of the storage area may be furtherincreased by adding more than two posts to each vertical unit.

Thus, it can be seen that the storage rack assembly and mounting clamptherefor of the present invention provide a novel assembly which iseconomical and easy to manufacture and has a substantially improved loadbearing capacity. The assembly is easily assembled from and disassembledinto a plurality of vertical units and horizontal members by means of animproved mounting clamp for detachably securing sleeves to posts tosupport the horizontal members thereon.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:
 1. In a mounting clampassembly for detachably securing horizontal members to posts, thecombination comprising a post having a polygonal cross section, a sleevehaving an internal cross section complementary to said cross section ofsaid post and detachably secured to said post in tightly fittingengagement therewith, a horizontal member secured to said sleeve, aprojection on said post below said sleeve preventing downwarddisplacement of said sleeve, and a plurality of resiliently deformableS-configured clamping members, said sleeve comprising a pair ofinterfitting sections each having two horizontal and two vertical edges,a generally L-shaped finger along each of said vertical edges and arecess along the base portion of said fingers, said fingers on saidsections being oppositely disposed and interfitting, said clampingmembers each having hook portions adjacent the ends thereof offset indifferent planes with one of said hook portions being seated in therecess of one interfitting finger and the other of said hook portionsbeing seated in the recess of the other interfitting finger to preventinadvertent disassembly.
 2. The mounting clamp assembly of claim 1wherein each of said sleeve section vertical edges has a secondgenerally L-shaped finger thereon projecting in the same direction assaid first mentioned finger and a recess along the base portion of saidsecond fingers.